The PESO Model in 2026: How Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned Media Work Together
Key points
- PESO organises media into four categories: paid (advertising), earned (editorial coverage), shared (social engagement), and owned (websites, email, podcasts).
- The framework was developed by Gini Dietrich, founder of Spin Sucks; PESO replaced the older POEM model by treating shared media as a distinct category.
- Paid media stops compounding when budgets stop; earned coverage compounds for years across search and AI citations.
- Stage-specific allocation: pre-launch is owned-heavy; growth balances all four; mature stages let earned and owned compound while paid maintains share.
- AI engines pull primarily from earned and owned content; programmes without substantive earned and owned face limited AI citation density.
Table of contents
- The four PESO categories
- Paid media: what to know in 2026
- Earned media: the credibility multiplier
- Shared media: amplification and engagement
- Owned media: the foundation
- How the four categories compound together
- How to allocate budget across PESO in 2026
- How to measure PESO impact
- Common PESO model mistakes
- Frequently asked questions
The four PESO categories
| Category | What it includes | Primary value |
|---|---|---|
| Paid | PPC ads, social ads, sponsored content, paid influencer posts, programmatic display | Immediate targeted reach with predictable conversion attribution |
| Earned | Editorial coverage, journalist features, organic mentions, organic word-of-mouth | Third-party credibility that compounds in search and AI citations |
| Shared | Social media engagement, community discussion, user-generated content | Amplification, audience signal, engagement with both earned and owned |
| Owned | Websites, blogs, email lists, podcasts, branded video, gated content | Full control over messaging and audience relationship |
Paid
Earned
Shared
Owned
Paid media: what to know in 2026
What paid media does well
- Drives traffic on predictable timelines
- Targets specific demographics, behaviours, and intent signals
- Provides relatively clean conversion attribution (especially for direct response)
- Tests messaging quickly
What paid media does not do well
- Build durable trust (audiences distinguish ads from editorial)
- Compound across time (effects stop when budgets stop)
- Earn AI search citations at the rate substantive earned coverage does
- Survive deprecation pressure (third-party cookies, Apple's ATT, ad blockers)
Honest pricing context
| Channel | Typical CPC range (B2B) | Typical CPC range (B2C) |
|---|---|---|
| Google Search Ads | $3 to $20+ depending on category | $0.50 to $5 depending on category |
| LinkedIn Ads | $5 to $15 typical | Generally not cost-effective for B2C |
| Meta Ads (Facebook, Instagram) | $1 to $5 | $0.30 to $2 typical |
| X Ads | $1 to $3 | $0.30 to $2 typical |
| TikTok Ads | Limited B2B targeting | $0.50 to $2 typical |
Google Search Ads
LinkedIn Ads
Meta Ads
X Ads
TikTok Ads
Pricing varies substantially by category, audience, and creative quality. Programmes without clear unit economics (CAC, LTV, LTV:CAC ratio) typically over-invest in paid relative to earned and owned.
Earned media: the credibility multiplier
What earned media does well
- Builds trust through third-party validation
- Compounds across years in search and AI citations
- Supports fundraising, talent attraction, and partnership development
- Survives deprecation pressure that affects paid channels
What earned media does not do well
- Produce immediate predictable traffic the way paid does
- Convert directly to revenue on tight timelines
- Provide clean attribution to specific marketing dollars
How earned media compounds in 2026
Three structural advantages:
- AI search citations. Princeton's GEO research (KDD 2024) found that adding citations from credible sources lifts AI visibility by up to 40%. Earned coverage feeds AI engine answers.
- Search rankings. Coverage from authoritative publications produces backlinks that strengthen domain authority.
- Trust signals. Audiences distinguish substantive earned coverage from advertising; trust signals favour earned coverage.
For more on earned media strategy, see our guide to mastering media pitching.
The earned engine that compounds across all four PESO categories.
Forbes, Business Insider, Entrepreneur, and 700+ publications. From $990 per story. Money-back guarantee. Most placements published within 72 hours.
See pricing →Owned media: the foundation
What owned media does well
- Provides full control over messaging and audience relationship
- Captures first-party data (essential as third-party tracking degrades)
- Compounds in search and AI citations through substantive content
- Survives platform changes that affect paid and shared
What owned media does not do well
- Produce immediate scale without earned and paid amplification
- Reach audiences who have not already discovered the brand
Owned media components in 2026
- Website. The foundation; substantive content earns AI citations and search rankings
- Blog. Sustained substantive content production that compounds across years
- Email list. Direct audience relationship that platform changes do not degrade
- Podcast. Long-form audience engagement and thought leadership
- Branded video. Educational and storytelling content for owned channels
- Gated content. Lead generation through substantive resources
How the four categories compound together
The PESO model produces compound effects when categories support each other:
- Earned amplifies owned. Coverage in respected publications drives traffic to owned content
- Owned supports earned. Substantive owned content gives journalists material to write about
- Shared amplifies earned and owned. Social engagement extends the reach of both
- Paid accelerates discovery. Targeted paid drives initial reach while earned builds long-term credibility
- Earned reduces paid CAC. Brands with earned credibility face lower paid acquisition costs
- AI citations compound across all four. AI engines pull from earned, owned, and (less reliably) shared
How to allocate budget across PESO in 2026
Stage-specific patterns
| Stage | Typical PESO emphasis |
|---|---|
| Pre-launch | Owned-heavy (foundation building) plus earned (initial credibility) |
| Launch | Earned-heavy (announcement coverage) plus paid (immediate reach) |
| Growth (Series A to B) | Balanced across all four; building compound effects |
| Scale (Series B+) | Earned and owned compound; paid optimises for unit economics |
| Mature | Earned and owned drive durable advantage; paid maintains share |
Pre-launch
Launch
Growth (A-B)
Scale (B+)
Mature
How to measure PESO impact
| Category | Primary metrics |
|---|---|
| Paid | CTR, CPC, CAC, ROAS, LTV:CAC ratio |
| Earned | Coverage tier, branded search lift, AI citation density, sentiment |
| Shared | Engagement rate, share of voice, audience growth, sentiment |
| Owned | Organic traffic, AI citations, email engagement, content compound |
Paid
Earned
Shared
Owned
Common PESO model mistakes
- Over-investing in paid because attribution is easier. Programmes that ignore earned and owned miss compound value.
- Treating earned as launch-only. Earned compounds when sustained across years.
- Skipping AI search measurement. Programmes that do not track AI citation density miss substantial compound effects.
- Fragmented execution across categories. The four categories produce compound effects when they support each other.
- Vanity metrics for shared media. Follower counts without engagement reveal little about real audience value.
- Promotional voice across all categories. Paid tolerates promotional language; earned and owned punish it.
- Skipping owned media foundation. Programmes without substantive owned content cannot compound earned.
Frequently asked questions
Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media. The framework was developed by Gini Dietrich, founder of Spin Sucks and author of "Spin Sucks: Communication and Reputation Management in the Digital Age."
POEM (Paid, Owned, Earned Media) preceded PESO. PESO adds Shared media as a distinct category, recognising that social engagement behaves differently from owned and earned. Most modern strategists prefer PESO for its clearer category distinctions.
Allocation depends on stage, category, and goals. Early-stage companies typically emphasise owned and earned (foundation building); growth-stage companies balance across all four; mature companies often shift earned and owned to compound while paid maintains share.
Modern measurement frameworks track each category's specific metrics plus integration metrics (branded search lift across all four, AI citation density, share of voice). Avoid AVE; the metric was deprecated by AMEC, PRSA, and IPRA.
Significantly. AI engines pull primarily from earned and owned content. Programmes without substantive earned and owned face limited AI citation density. Strong programmes treat AI visibility as a primary outcome alongside traditional metrics.
Influencer marketing spans paid (sponsored posts) and shared (organic engagement). FTC requires disclosure of paid promotion; non-compliance produces real legal risk. Strong programmes build long-term influencer relationships rather than one-off transactions.
Where to go next
If you are building or refining an integrated media strategy, the foundation is the same regardless of company size: substantive content across all four PESO categories, measurement that captures compound effects, and integration that lets categories support each other. Browse our guide to mastering media pitching, see our guide to measuring PR success, or read our guide to integrated communications.
The brands that capture compound value across paid, earned, shared, and owned media are not the ones with the largest budgets. They are the ones with substantive content, integrated execution across all four categories, and measurement frameworks that capture compound effects. The work compounds when the foundation is right.
Read More BadenBower's Articles
Get Your Business Featured in Major Publications
We reply within 1 business day. Your information is never shared or sold.